An analysis of head and ear anthropometric data using 3D scans for head-wearable products

The present study analysed the anthropometric characteristics of an integrated head-ear dataset to advance the ergonomic design of head-wearable products. By integrating 3D scanning, casting techniques, and template registration methods, scan data from 200 Korean participants were processed and 88 head and ear dimensions were measured. Among the head and ear dimensions, 95.5% showed larger average sizes in males than in females (mean difference = 0.3-25.1 mm; mean ratio = 1.02-1.37), with males exhibiting 67.0% greater variability (SD ratio = 1.01-1.36). Significant age-related changes were observed in 30.7% of the dimensions, with the majority of significant increases occurring in ear height-related dimensions, which rose by 5.0-18.0% from individuals in their 20s to their 50s, such as ear length (mean ratio: 30s = 1.03, 40s = 1.04, 50s = 1.09). These results can be of use for designing head-wearable products.